Rocambole () is a fictional adventurer created by

Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail Pierre Alexis, Viscount of Ponson du Terrail (8 July 1829 – 20 January 1871) was a French writer. He was a prolific novelist, producing in the space of twenty years some seventy-three volumes, and is best remembered today for his creation of ...

, a 19th-century French writer. The word ''rocambolesque'' has become common in French and other languages to label any kind of fantastic adventure.

Overview

The series introduces Rocambole as a highly resourceful

adolescent Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...

, an

orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

adopted by the wily crone Maman Fipart. He first assists the evil Andrea de Felipone, a.k.a. Sir Williams, in his fight against Andrea's half-brother, the Comte de Kergaz. A major protagonist in the battle is a courtesan with a heart of gold and a fearless temper, Louise Charmet, a.k.a. Baccarat. In the third novel of the series, Rocambole takes over and kills Sir Williams. But Baccarat again thwarts his evil schemes, and he ends up imprisoned in the hard labor camp of Toulon (like

Jean Valjean Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's 1862 novel ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''.) In the fourth novel, an older and wiser Rocambole, who has been pardoned, has become a do-gooder; however, the

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of , the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle ...

(installment) was not popular with the readers, and Ponson du Terrail re-wrote a new version in which Rocambole escapes from Toulon, redeems himself and becomes a full-fledged hero. The later novels portray Rocambole as a fearless hero fighting a variety of dastardly villains such as the

Thuggee Thuggee (, ) was a network of organized crime in British Raj India in the 19th century of gangs that traversed the Indian subcontinent murdering and robbing people.India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and has gathered around him a coterie of equally talented assistants. Rocambole anticipates characters such as A. J. Raffles,

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin () is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazine '' Je sais tout''. The first ...

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared ...

, The Saint,

Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a polymathic scientist, explorer, detective, and warrior who "right ...

Judex Judex (real name Jacques de Trémeuse) is a fictional French vigilante hero created by Louis Feuillade and Arthur Bernède for the 1916 silent film '' Judex''. Judex (whose name is Latin for "judge") is a mysterious avenger who dresses in black ...

and

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

. In a final chapter to the sixth volume, Ponson du Terrail claims that Rocambole really existed and was narrating his own exploits through him, making Rocambole perhaps the first

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...

al hero of his kind.

Books

# ''Les Drames de Paris'' (1857) (aka L'Héritage Mystérieux) # ''Le Club des Valets de Coeur'' (1858) # ''Les Exploits de Rocambole'' (1858–59) # ''Les Chevaliers du Clair de Lune'' (1860–62) # ''La Résurrection de Rocambole'' (1865–66) (this novel rewrites and supersedes 4 above) # ''Le Dernier Mot de Rocambole'' (1866–67) # ''Les Misères de Londres'' (1867–68) # ''Les Démolitions de Paris'' (1869) # ''La Corde du Pendu'' (1870, never completed)

By other writers

* by Contant Gueroult: *# ''Le Retour et la Fin de Rocambole'' (1875) *# ''Les Nouveaux Exploits de Rocambole'' (1880) * by Jules Cardoze: *# ''Les Bâtards de Rocambole'' (1886) * by Leite Bastos: *# ''As Maravilhas do Homem Pardo'' (188?) (Portuguese-language sequel to ''La Corde du Pendu''.) *by Frédéric Valade: *# ''Le Petit-Fils de Rocambole'' (1922) *# ''La Haine immortelle'' (1922) *# ''Le Testament de Rocambole'' (1931) *# ''Olivia contre Rocambole'' (1931) *# ''La Justice de Rocambole'' (1932) *# ''La Belle Olivia'' (1932) *# ''Les Larmes de Rocambole'' (1933) *# ''Le Châtiment d'Olivia'' (1933) * by Michel Honaker: *# ''Rocambole et le Spectre de Kerloven'' (2002) (This series of novels crosses over Rocambole and

Paul Féval Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

's '' Les Habits Noirs''). *# ''Rocambole et les Marionnettes de la Mort'' (2003) ocambole and the Puppets of Death*# ''Rocambole et le Pacte de Sang'' (2004) ocambole and the Pact of Blood*# ''Rocambole et le Diable de Montrouge'' (2005) ocambole and the Devil of Montrouge(2005) *#'' Rocambole et la Sorcière du Marais'' (2005) ocambole and the Witch of the Marais(2005)

Films

* Rocambole (Fr.; serial, B&W., 1914) * Rocambole (Fr.; serial, B&W., 1924) * Rocambole (Fr.; B&W., 1932) * Rocambole (Mexico; B&W., 69 min., 1946) * Rocambole (Fr.; B&W., 105 min., 1948) * The Revenge of Baccarat (Fr.; B&W., 105 min., 1948) * (Fr.; col., 100 min., 1963)

Television

Rocambole (French ORTF, B&W., three seasons of twenty-six 15-min. episodes, 1964–65)

Comics

Hungarian comics artist György Szitas adapted ''Rocamble'' into a comic strip.

Cultural influence

The name of the Russian crime group Club of Jacks of Hearts is borrowed from the novel ''Le Club des Valets de Coeur''.

Notes

External links

The French Wold Newton Universe – RocamboleEbooks gratuits search for the auteur Ponson du Terrail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocambole Fictional French police detectives Fictional gentleman thieves Fictional French people in literature Literary characters introduced in 1857 Male characters in literature Orphan characters in literature